Product Description

In Shangri-La, the mysterious and isolated utopia nestled high in the mountains, a strange struggle for dominance has begun. Once peaceful and neighborly, the Masters of the competing mountain-folk train their students and send them out across bridges to control neighboring villages. To take control of a village, the students must come together in uncomfortable alliances, regardless of their tribal origin. Eventually students become Masters themselves, train new students and expand to other villages.

There is one thing each student must keep in mind as they travel from village to village -- the mystical powers of Shangri-La mysteriously cause the bridges to collapse, separating villages forever. One crucial question will decide the winner: who will control the most Masters of Shangri-La?

The game does not look much like a game at the beginning; that's one of the participants said. We were so wrong; the bland board and bridges fooled us. With four people playing (maximum), the intrigues became quite evident.

The goal is to become a master of as many of the 13 villages as possible. Masters and students include healers, dragonbreeders, firekeepers, priests, rainmakers, astrologers, and Yeti-whisperers. We laid these tiles in the orders shown on the suggested four-player game. Being a fan of movies about Shangri-La, both old and new versions, I couldn't wait for the game to begin.

In any turn you need to: (1)place a master tile in a village you control or want, (2)recruit a student to a village where you have more control (number of your tiles), and (3)pass the turn to the next player. The strategy of the game involves taking up bridges and keeping bridges you need to move to other areas. It is best in this game to lay back and see where other players land their tiles. One has to remember you can either place one master tile or two student tiles, not both.

Opponents began early and with conviction started placing student tiles to control certain areas. When they had wrested control from another player, up came the bridge connecting the two areas. Therefore, the next player had to find another unbroken path to a particular village. You want to spread your clans and master/student tiles in many areas, but not too many areas.

As I watched two of my opponents grab villages, the conclusion emerged: dog-eat-dog. Then, some bridges remained in the upper part of the map. If I played my cards correctly, I should be able to grab an isolated village and declare tile control, thus eliminating another bridge. That happened.

In fact, the game ended with one of my worthy opponents having 11 villages and my possessing 9. That was some satisfaction after my opponent found an unbroken path and proceeded to replace my master tile of dragonbreeders with two of his students, thus becoming the master of that tile in my village. That hurt, but that remains the breaks of the game.

Would I play this game again and again? Absolutely. The sheer willpower it takes to study all these 13 villages and check your opponents' master and student tiles makes for an enjoyable evening. The turns move crisply, once the rules are understood about controlling villages and removing bridges. The game is balanced, and every player has an opportunity to win.

I first had the opportunity to play this latest Leo
Colovini design
and UberPlay/Kosmos
release on the first day of the Spiele Faire
in Essen. Not only was I honored to have Mik Svellov and Stuart
Dagger as my fellow gamers, but we also had the privilege of
being taught the game by UberPlay's Jeremy Young.
Experiences like that border on the surreal for me.

To be honest, I was less than enthused with my inaugural
playing. I'm not sure why. The game worked, and, indeed, was
filled with tough choices and seemingly considerable depth.
However, it felt dryer than a bottle of Chianti. Further,
in spite of
the exotic theme, there was no shaking that the game felt
decidedly abstract. Overall, the game just failed to generate
much excitement for me -- or for my two opponents. I was
rather
disappointed.

Still, I couldn't let it go with just one playing. When
my copy
arrived, I vowed to get it to the table at the first
opportunity.

The theme is rather unusual. All of the fabled tribes
inhabiting
the mystic land of Shangri-La have mysteriously vanished. The
various tribes of the surrounding mountains immediately sent
their wisest masters and most astute students into Shangri-La in
hopes of expanding their culture and becoming dominant in this
newly vacated land.

The board depicts the 13 villages that comprise
Shangri-La. Each
village has space for seven different "masters", one of each
type. These villages are located on the peaks of the mountains
and are all connected by a series of roads and bridges. The
wooden bridges are placed on the roads, spanning the gaps
between the mountain peaks. The overall appearance is dark
and brooding. Sadly, this atmosphere is spoiled by the player
tokens, which are exceedingly bright with cartoon-like artwork.
The two just don't jive, and one has to wonder what the
developers were thinking. I can understand using bright colors
so that they will contrast with the darker board, making them
easier to see. The artwork, however, is simply baffling.

Each player has a set of 42 tokens, six each in seven
different
classifications (known as "disciplines"). Players alternate
placing
one token from each of their classes into the villages. These
tokens are known as ?masters?. Beginning players can use the
suggested set-up if desired.

On a player's turn, he has the following options:

Place a new Master. A player may place into a
village if (a)
there is a vacant spot of the type matching the tile, and
(b) the
player already has a master of a different type located in the
village.

Recruit Students. Students are sent to learn at the feet of
the wise masters. Each master can teach one student of the
same type (how is that for a teacher to student ratio?). The
player may place two students, either into one village -- in
which
case the students must be of different types -- or into two
different villages. Student tiles are placed directly on
top of a
previously placed master tile.

Begin a Journey of the Students. After having studied
at the
feet of a master, students in a village grow restless and
seek to
journey to neighboring villages to either learn from a new
master
or become masters themselves.

When a journey is declared, ALL students in a village
move along
a path and across a bridge to a neighboring village. The player
must have at least one student present in a village in order to
declare a journey from that village. What occurs in the
destination village will depend upon several factors and is
based
on which village is strongest. Strength is determined by
comparing the total number of masters and students in each
village.

Situation 1: The village of origin is strongest.
In this case,
any student entering a village with an empty village space
of its
discipline is placed onto that space and becomes a master.
If the
space is occupied by a master of its own color, the tile is
placed
and becomes a student of that master. If, however, the space is
occupied by a master -- with or without a student -- that
tile is
evicted and the newly arriving student becomes the new
master. Evicted tiles return to their respective player?s
stockpile.

Situation 2: The destination village is strongest. In
this case,
conflicts are resolved with the newly arriving student being
evicted. If there is no conflict, it is resolved as in
Situation 1.

Situation 3: Both villages are equal in strength. In
this case,
the village with the most masters is considered strongest.
If this
is tied, then the destination village is considered the
strongest.

Once a journey is complete and all positions rectified,
the bridge
connecting the two villages crumbles, rendering that path
unusable for the remainder of the game. Eventually, a
village will
become isolated, as all of its surrounding bridges have
crumbled.
When this occurs, the village is marked with a Stone of the Wise
Men. When 11 stones have been placed, the game ends and the
player with the most masters on the board is victorious and
reigns supreme in Shangri-La.

There are lots of interesting and often tough decisions to be
made during the game. Choosing the action you will perform can
often be agonizing. One must always keep a careful and wary
eye on the actions of your opponents. The threat of students
embarking on a journey is always present and presents a
persistent danger to neighboring villages. Players will usually
have numerous students in danger of being evicted on each and
every turn. Trying to protect them all, while at the same time
expanding your own influence, is a tough balancing act. I often
get the feeling of being overwhelmed, attempting to stave off
disasters on several different fronts, while at the same time
attempting to pursue my offensive objectives. On a very small
and comparatively insignificant scale, I can understand how the
generals in a war feel.

There is also a danger of depleting your stockpile of a
particular
discipline. This can occur if you concentrate too much on a
particular area, continuing to expand from those villages. This
can easily result in the continual placement of tiles from
just a
few disciplines, which will cause those reserves to deplete.
This
could cause your expansion to come to a grinding halt, which
will
likely spell doom. It appears that a delicate balancing act
must
be performed, attempting to expand using tiles from as many of
your disciplines as possible.

I must state that I enjoyed my second and subsequent playings
so much more than my first playing .. and I'm not sure why.
Perhaps I have a better sense of the mechanics and the effects
of the choices to be made. Perhaps I am better able to look
past
the abstract nature of the game and the mismatched
components and appreciate the game play more. In any case, I
find the game to be challenging, tense and filled with
interesting
and tough decisions. These subsequent playings have elevated
the game from the "I'll play if asked?" category to the
higher "I'll
request it" classification.

I first had the opportunity to play this latest Leo Colovini design and berplay/Kosmos release on the first day of the Spiele Fair in Essen. Not only was I honored to have Mik Svellov and Stuart Dagger as my fellow gamers, but we also had the privilege of being taught the game by berplay's Jeremy Young. Experiences like that border on the surreal for me.

To be honest, I was less than enthused with my inaugural playing. I'm not sure why. The game worked, and, indeed, was filled with tough choices and seemingly considerable depth. However, it felt dryer than a bottle of Chianti. Further, in spite of the exotic theme, there was no shaking that the game felt decidedly abstract. Overall, the game just failed to generate much excitement for me - or for my two opponents. I was rather disappointed.

Still, I couldn't let it go with just one playing. When my copy arrived, I vowed to get it to the table at the first opportunity. That opportunity arose as our evening drew to a close. I was joined by Elizabeth, Keith and Jim for a journey to the fabled land of Shangri-La.

The theme is rather unusual. All of the fabled tribes inhabiting the mystic land of Shangri-La have mysteriously vanished. The various tribes of the surrounding mountains immediately sent their wisest masters and most astute students into Shangri-La in hopes of expanding their culture and becoming dominant in this newly vacated land.

The board depicts the 13 villages that comprise Shangri-La. Each village has space for seven different masters, one of each type. These villages are located on the peaks of the mountains and are all connected by a series of roads and bridges. The wooden bridges are placed on the roads, spanning the gaps between the mountain peaks. The overall appearance is dark and brooding. Sadly, this atmosphere is spoiled by the player tokens, which are exceedingly bright with cartoon-like artwork. The two just don't jive, and one has to wonder what the developers were thinking. I can understand using bright colors so that they will contrast with the darker board, making them easier to see. The artwork, however, is simply baffling.

Each player has a set of 42 tokens, six each in seven different classifications (known as disciplines). Players alternate placing one token from each of their classes into the villages. These tokens are known as masters. Beginning players can use the suggested set-up if desired.

On a player's turn, he has the following options:

1) Place a new Master. A player may place into a village if (a) there is a vacant spot of the type matching the tile, and (b) the player already has a master of a different type located in the village.

2) Recruit Students. Students are sent to learn at the feet of the wise masters. Each master can teach one student of the same type (how is that for a teacher to student ratio?). The player may place two students, either into one village - in which case the students must be of different types - or into two different villages. Student tiles are placed directly on top of a previously placed master tile.

3) Begin a Journey of the Students. After having studied at the feet of a master, students in a village grow restless and seek to journey to neighboring villages to either learn from a new master or become masters themselves.

When a journey is declared, all students in a village move along a path and across a bridge to a neighboring village. The player must have at least one student present in a village in order to declare a journey from that village. What occurs in the destination village will depend upon several factors and is based on which village is strongest. Strength is determined by comparing the total number of masters and students in each village.

a) Situation 1 - The village of origin is strongest. In this case, any student entering a village with an empty village space of its discipline is placed onto that space and becomes a master. If the space is occupied by a master of its own color, the tile is placed and becomes a student of that master. If, however, the space is occupied by a master - with or without a student - that tile is evicted and the newly arriving student becomes the new master. Evicted tiles return to their respective player's stockpile.

b) Situation 2 - The destination village is strongest. In this case, conflicts are resolved with the newly arriving student being evicted. If there is no conflict, it is resolved as in Situation 1.

c) Situation 3 - Both villages are equal in strength. In this case, the village with the most masters is considered strongest. If this is tied, then the destination village is considered the strongest.

Once a journey is complete and all positions rectified, the bridge connecting the two villages crumbles, rendering that path unusable for the remainder of the game. Eventually, a village will become isolated, as all of its surrounding bridges have crumbled. When this occurs, the village is marked with a Stone of the Wise Men. When 11 stones have been placed, the game ends and the player with the most masters on the board is victorious and reigns supreme in Shangri-La.

There are lots of interesting and often tough decisions to be made during the game. Choosing the action you will perform can often be agonizing. One must always keep a careful and wary eye on the actions of your opponents. The threat of students embarking on a journey is always present and presents a persistent danger to neighboring villages. Players will usually have numerous students in danger of being evicted on each and every turn. Trying to protect them all, while at the same time expanding your own influence, is a tough balancing act. I often get the feeling of being overwhelmed, attempting to stave off disasters on several different fronts, while at the same time attempting to pursue my offensive objectives. On a very small and comparatively insignificant scale, I can understand how the generals in a war feel.

There is also a danger of depleting your stockpile of a particular discipline. This can occur if you concentrate too much on a particular area, continuing to expand from those villages. This can easily result in the continual placement of tiles from just a few disciplines, which will cause those reserves to deplete. This could cause your expansion to come to a grinding halt, which will likely spell doom. It appears that a delicate balancing act must be performed, attempting to expand using tiles from as many of your disciplines as possible.

I must state that I enjoyed my second and subsequent playings so much more than my first playing - and I'm not sure why. Perhaps I have a better sense of the mechanics and the effects of the choices to be made. Perhaps I am better able to look past the abstract nature of the game and the mismatched components and appreciate the game play more. In any case, I find the game to be challenging, tense and filled with interesting and tough decisions. These subsequent playings have elevated the game from the 'I'll play if asked' category to the higher 'I'll request it' classification.

Other Resources for The Bridges of Shangri-La:

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